Delaware, Walton RHRF

STEPS

Recycling Process

The Delaware County RHRF runs a fully cohesive and interconnected system for handling recyclable materials, with an aim to minimize the amount of waste, retrieve resources, and help mitigate environmental and economic expenditures linked to landfilling. The RHRF is equipped with advanced systems and equipment that enhance the sorting process. Incoming recyclable materials are directed to one of the four specialized tipping zones as per their type and level of cleanliness. The first-floor functions as a single-stream collection zone where combined recyclables (OCC, ONP, plastics) are accumulated. This starting point allows manual sorters to perform initial sorting which simplifies the sorting process in later stages. The second tipping area is meant for uncontaminated residential plastics such as milk containers, water bottles etc. which involves minimal sorting and are easier to manage. Tipping area three is designated for clean OCC which is later converted into fiber and reused to produce new cardboard materials, thereby promoting circular economy by lessening the requirement of virgin wood pulp. The fourth tipping area collects clean ONP (newspaper) which is immediately placed onto conveyor belts and directly goes into balers.

Recyclables from the first floor (single-stream collection area) are transferred onto a metering system also known as bag feed device (BFD), which maintains the continuous flow of materials throughout the sorting process. This uniform flow helps in effectively identifying and removing contaminants. The recyclables are then transported to the pre-sort zone where manual sorters remove any detanglers, hazardous materials or non-recyclables capable of disrupting the equipment. Also, at this stage, five-cent deposit beverage containers are recovered and transferred to redemption sites. OCC is segregated from plastics with the help of an OCC screen. OCC glides over the screen to a dedicated conveyor line, whereas lightweight materials (containers and plastic) proceed further. Just below the OCC screen, there is a glass breaker which crushes glass items into fine pieces making it suitable for prospective reusability or disposing at landfills.

Subsequently, fiber (paper) and plastics are separated with the help of a ballistic separator. The fiber is routed to a quality assurance area where the contaminants mainly non-recyclable plastics are removed manually. The tin cans are segregated using an automated magnetic sorting machine which detects and separates metal containers.

Plastics are later handled in the sorting zone, where skilled manual sorters segregate different kinds of plastic by their resin type such as PET, HDPE etc. These are segregated as per opacity and color parameters and placed into specified bins. An eddy current equipment then extracts non-ferrous materials (aluminum) common in beverage containers. These materials are then dropped in a storage pit from where they are transported to bins for compacting and shipping. The baling area of the RHRF compacts sorted fibers and plastics into uniform bales and preps them for shipping to recycling market. For certain materials, such as plastic films and bags, a vertical baler is used.